ASHTABULA, Ohio — While going out on the water may be the last thing on your mind right now, the U.S. Coast Guard confirmed to News 5 it is planning to close its Ashtabula Harbor station as well as downsize its Fairport Harbor station in Lake County.
It comes as Coast Guard officials say they’re dealing with understaffing, with about 10% less than what is needed.
"Our response would be coming out of either Cleveland or Erie, which to us on a perfectly great day on the lake is still an hour response time from either one of those locations, and that's just not acceptable," Ashtabula City Manager Jim Timonere said during the Nov. 20 city council meeting.
Since then, even U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown has chimed in, sending a letter to the Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard and the Secretary of Homeland Secretary, urging them to reconsider.
"The community’s ability to safely enjoy Lake Erie hinges upon the security and emergency preparedness provided by the Coast Guard, including USCG Ashtabula Station," he wrote. "USCG only operates this station from May to September each year and any reduction of that staffing will leave the region vulnerable during times of peak usage."
Ashtabula city leaders said this isn’t the first change with the U.S. Coast Guard at the harbor.
In 2016, they learned the U.S. Coast Guard would be on site from when the lake or river unfroze in the spring until it froze in the winter. Fast forward a couple of years, and that timeline shifted to manning its station from Memorial Day to Labor Day.
The Ashtabula City Manager adds they had more than 150 incidents on the lake last summer within their area, which breaks down to almost one a day during the summertime.
In a phone conversation, a spokesperson with the U.S. Coast Guard told News 5 that it’s better for their crews to be fully staffed at fewer locations than understaffed at all ports, adding this shift will start this upcoming spring and summer.
A spokesperson with the U.S. Coast Guard went on to say the move is only temporary until their employment numbers get back up and the U.S. Coast Guard is 100% confident they can keep the public safe with this plan.
